DeKalb Settles Racial Bias Suit With Ex-Parks Employees

DeKalb County has agreed to a $1.3 million settlement with two former parks employees in a 6-year-old racial discrimination case.

According to a filing dated April 14, the previously awarded $1.9 million in legal fees and $185,000 in damages will be replaced by the settlement amount.

The settlement amount brings the county’s tab to well over $4 million since the case was filed in August 2004. By early 2010 the county had already spent more than $2.5 million in legal fees.

The suit alleged that Vernon Jones, when he was DeKalb’s CEO, wanted to get rid of white managers so he could create a “darker administration” that would reflect the county’s racial makeup.

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The federal case originally involved four former parks employees who all alleged that Jones discriminated against some white managers.

In April 2010, a jury decided that Jones, his executive assistant, Richard Stogner, and parks director Marilyn Boyd Drew “created and maintained a hostile work environment.” It also found DeKalb to be responsible for racial discrimination. The jury also said Jones, Stogner, Drew and the county were liable for damages.

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